DVDpedia : Library : Title : A

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: Dreamworks Video

Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy

Duration: 146

Summary: History will place an asterisk next to "A.I." as the film Stanley Kubrick "might" have directed. But let the record also show that Kubrick--after developing this project for some 15 years--wanted Steven Spielberg to helm this astonishing sci-fi rendition of "Pinocchio", claiming (with good reason) that it veered closer to Spielberg's kinder, gentler sensibilities. Spielberg inherited the project (based on the Brian Aldiss short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long") after Kubrick's death in 1999, and the result is an astounding directorial hybrid. A flawed masterpiece of sorts, in which Spielberg's gift for wondrous enchantment often clashes (and sometimes melds) with Kubrick's harsher vision of humanity, the film spans near and distant futures with the fairy-tale adventures of an artificial boy named David (Haley Joel Osment), a marvel of cybernetic progress who wants only to be a real boy, loved by his mother in that happy place called home.
Echoes of Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun" are clearly heard as young David, shunned by his trial parents and tossed into an unfriendly world, is joined by fellow "mecha" Gigolo Joe (played with a dancer's agility by Jude Law) in his quest for a mother-and-child reunion. Parallels to "Pinocchio" intensify as David reaches "the end of the world" (a Manhattan flooded by melted polar ice caps), and a far-future epilogue propels "A.I." into even deeper realms of wonder, even as it pulls Spielberg back to his comfort zone of sweetness and soothing sentiment. Some may lament the diffusion of Kubrick's original vision, but this is Spielberg's "A.I." (complete with one of John Williams's finest scores), a film of astonishing technical wizardry that spans the spectrum of human emotions and offers just enough Kubrick to suggest that humanity's future is anything but guaranteed. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 1989

Studio: Sony Pictures

Genre: Kids & Family

Summary: Monty Python's Terry Gilliam ("Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas") directs this wild, wild version of the stories of Baron Munchausen, pushing the limits of 1989 special effects technology to bring us such sights as a horse divided in half and running around in two parts, and a giant Robin Williams with his head flying off his shoulders. Basically, this is a treat for Gilliam fans, as the sustaining idea of the film runs out of steam, and manic energy alone keeps the momentum going. Casual viewers might find it tedious after awhile. There are nice parts for fellow Python Eric Idle, as well as Sting, Alison Steadman, and Uma Thurman as a dazzlingly beautiful Venus on a half-shell. Gilliam had greater artistic and commercial success with "Brazil", "The Fisher King" and "12 Monkeys". "--Tom Keogh"

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Paramount Home Video

Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy

Summary: Like the animated series it's based on, "Aeon Flux" is the kind of sci-fi that's best appreciated by the MTV generation. It's a serious attempt at stylized, futuristic action/adventure (the title character, played by Charlize Theron, is essentially a female James Bond for the cyberpunk era) and taken for what it is, it's not all that bad. The action takes place in the year 2415, four centuries after a virus nearly decimated the human race, leaving only five million survivors in a utopian city called Bregna. Aeon belongs to the Monicans, a secret rebel resistance force that is struggling to destroy the Goodchild regime led by its namesake, Trevor Goodchild (Martin Csokas), the ruler of Bregna and a descendant of the man who found a cure for the deadly virus. As instructed by the Handler (Frances McDormand, gamely playing along in ridiculous sci-fi regalia), Aeon is assigned to assassinate Goodchild, but there are deeper secrets to be discovered, and conspiracies to be foiled. This leads director Karyn Kusama (who fared much better with her debut feature "Girlfight") to indulge in all sorts of routine action and fast-paced gunplay, but the elusive pleasures of "Aeon Flux" are mostly found in the sleek athleticism of Theron and costar Sophie Okonedo (as a fellow Monican), who commit themselves 100% to roles that are dramatically flat yet physically dynamic. Other highlights include Aeon's high-tech gadgetry (including an eyeball that doubles as a microsocope) and the amusing sight of Pete Postlethwaite in a costume resembling a construction-site disposal tube, but "Flux" fans may wonder what happened to the surreal, chromium sheen future that gave the MTV series its visionary appeal. As a live-action feature, "Aeon Flux" is a miscalculated exercise in cheesy style and dour tone, but it's entertaining enough to earn a small cadre of admirers. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 2003

Studio: Paramount

Genre: Animation

Summary: Her extensive list of skills includes assassination, seduction, domination, and modeling. She is a leather-clad mercenary and a deadly double agent, known for her erratic behavior patterns and ability to dispatch villains with a kick of her shapely leg. She's Aeon Flux, the dazzling dominatrix from the popular animated series on MTV, a colorful hybrid of Japanese animation and Heavy Metal graphics. This digital video disc combines several complete episodes with selected shorts as they originally appeared on the popular music video channel. Aeon Flux is teasing treat for libidinous teens and grownup guys with teenage tastes. --Jeff Shannon

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]

Genre: Anime

Duration: 124

Summary: Artist-writer Katsuhiro ôtomo began telling the story of Akira as a comic book series in 1982 but took a break from 1986 to 1988 to write, direct, supervise, and design this animated film version. Set in 2019, the film richly imagines the new metropolis of Neo-Tokyo, which is designed from huge buildings down to the smallest details of passing vehicles or police uniforms. Two disaffected orphan teenagers--slight, resentful Tetsuo and confident, breezy Kaneda--run with a biker gang, but trouble grows when Tetsuo start to resent the way Kaneda always has to rescue him. Meanwhile, a group of scientists, military men, and politicians wonder what to do with a collection of withered children who possess enormous psychic powers, especially the mysterious, rarely seen Akira, whose awakening might well have caused the end of the old world. Tetsuo is visited by the children, who trigger the growth of psychic and physical powers that might make him a superman or a supermonster. As befits a distillation of 1,318 pages of the story so far, "Akira" is overstuffed with character, incident, and detail. However, it piles up astonishing set pieces: the chases and shootouts (amazingly kinetic, amazingly bloody) benefit from minute cartoon detail that extends to the surprised or shocked faces of the tiniest extra; the Tetsuo monster alternately looks like a billion-gallon scrotal sac or a Tex Avery mutation of the monster from "The Quatermass Experiment"; and the finale--which combines flashbacks to more innocent days with a destruction of Neo City and the creation of a new universe--is one of the most mind-bending in all sci-fi cinema. "--Kim Newman"

Theatrical: 1979

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Genre: Horror

Duration: 117

Summary: A landmark of science fiction and horror, "Alien" arrived in 1979 between "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back" as a stylishly malevolent alternative to George Lucas's space fantasy. Partially inspired by 1958's "It! The Terror from Beyond Space", this instant classic set a tone of its own, offering richly detailed sets, ominous atmosphere, relentless suspense, and a flawless ensemble cast as the crew of the space freighter "Nostromo", who fall prey to a vicious creature (designed by Swiss artist H.R. Giger) that had gestated "inside" one of the ill-fated crew members. In a star-making role, Sigourney Weaver excels as sole survivor Ripley, becoming the screen's most popular heroine in a lucrative movie franchise. To measure the film's success, one need only recall the many images that have been burned into our collective psyche, including the "facehugger," the "chestburster," and Ripley's climactic encounter with the full-grown monster. Impeccably directed by Ridley Scott, "Alien" is one of the cinema's most unforgettable nightmares. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 1986

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Genre: Horror

Duration: 137

Summary: "Aliens" is one of the few cases of a sequel that far surpassed the original. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, who awakens on Earth only to discover that she has been hibernating in space so long that everyone she knows is dead. Then she is talked into traveling (along with a squad of Marines) to a planet under assault by the same aliens that nearly killed her. Once she gets there, she finds a lost little girl who triggers her maternal instincts--and she discovers that the company has once again double-crossed her, in hopes of capturing one of the aliens to study as a military weapon. Directed and written by James Cameron, this is one of the most intensely exciting (not to mention intensely frightening) action films ever, with a large ensemble cast that includes Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, and Michael Biehn. Weaver defined the action woman in this film and walked away with an Oscar nomination for her trouble. "--Marshall Fine"

Theatrical: 1981

Studio: Mca Home Video

Genre: Horror

Duration: 97

Summary: Remember back in the early 1980s when special-effects makeup artists were tripping over themselves to create the next big effect? "The Howling" boasted a fantastic werewolf transformation scene courtesy of makeup wizard Rob Bottin. Then along came Bottin's mentor, Rick Baker, with his own spectacular effects in this popular horror comedy directed by John Landis. "An American Werewolf in London" is more of a makeup showcase than a truly satisfying movie, but the film is effectively moody when David Naughton discovers that a wolf attack has turned him into a bloodthirsty lycanthrope. Jenny Agutter plays his love interest (watch out, he bites!), and who can forget Griffin Dunne as Naughton's best friend, an undead corpse who progressively rots away as the plot unfolds? All things considered, it's easy to see why "An American Werewolf in London" became a modern horror favorite. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 1997

Studio: Walt Disney Video

Genre: Horror

Duration: 105

Summary: On the strength of his Hitchcockian-thriller debut, "Mute Witness", writer-director Anthony Waller was hired to direct this belated sequel to the 1981 horror comedy "An American Werewolf in London", but lycanthropy in the City of Light just ain't what it used to be. The movie offers plenty of gruesome makeup and special wolf-transformation effects, and there are some effectively spooky moments in the plot involving an underground population of hungry Parisian werewolves. One of them is seductively played by Julie Delpy, who is rescued from attempted suicide by an American tourist (Tom Everett Scott, from "That Thing You Do!") but ultimately can't hide her dual identity when darkness falls and the full moon shines. The movie begins well, but gradually succumbs to nonsense and mayhem, prompting critic Roger Ebert to observe that "here are people we don't care about, doing things they don't understand, in a movie without any rules." In other words, you'd have to be a die-hard horror buff to give this one the benefit of the doubt. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 1999

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy

Summary: ANGEL SEASON 1 (6 DISCS) ANGEL SEASON 2 (6 DISCS) ANGEL SEASON 3 (6 DISCS) ANGEL SEASON 4 (6 DISCS) ANGEL SEASON 5 (6 DISCS)
**COMPANION BOOKLET **LETTER TO FANS FROM JOSS WHEDON

Theatrical: 1993

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Television

Summary: Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs! The adventures or misadventures of the Warner Brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner Sister, Dot, who were so crazy that the studio execs locked them away in the water town at the Studio. The witty, slapstick humor with pop culture parodies and cartoon wackiness is on DVD for the first time ever with 25 fantastic Animaniacs episodes.

Theatrical: 1993

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Television

Duration: 531

Summary: Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs! The adventures or misadventures of the Warner Brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner Sister, Dot, who were so crazy that the studio execs locked them away in the water town at the Studio. The witty, slapstick humor with pop culture parodies and cartoon wackiness is on DVD for the first time ever with 25 fantastic Animaniacs episodes.

Theatrical: 1993

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Television

Duration: 750

Summary: Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs! The adventures or misadventures of the Warner Brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner Sister, Dot, who were so crazy that the studio execs locked them away in the water town at the Studio. The witty, slapstick humor with pop culture parodies and cartoon wackiness is on DVD for the first time ever with 25 fantastic Animaniacs episodes.

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]

Genre: Anime

Duration: 105

Summary: The 2004 "Appleseed" feature is a reworking of the earlier video based on the manga by Masamune Shirow ("Ghost in the Shell"). In 2131, most of humanity has withdrawn to the glittering city of Olympus after a devastating war. When the curvaceous Deunan Knute comes to Olympus, she encounters her former comrade Briareos, now a cyborg, and the lovely android Hitomi. The fate of Hitomi, Olympus, and humanity rest on the lost "Appleseed" technology that Deunan's mother helped to develop. A standard series of chases, "mecha battles", and confrontations leads to a predictable ending. When the original "Appleseed"appeared in 1988, it felt like a summary of anime's past, while "Akira" pointed the way to the future. This new version feels like a mishmash of "Ghost in the Shell", "Akira", "Jin-Roh", "Evangelion", and other, more exciting works. The motion-capture CG is typically weightless, and the "mecha" look oddly squat. (Rated R: violence) "--Charles Solomon"

Theatrical: 2007

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Art House & International

Duration: 104

Summary: Produced by John Woo and directed by Shinji Aramaki, "Appleseed Ex Machina" (2007) ranks as the most elaborate, stylish, and violent of the three adaptations of Masamune Shirow's manga. When it was released in 1988, the original "Appleseed" felt like a summary of anime's past, while "Akira" pointed the way to the future. The second "Appleseed" (2004), also directed by Aramaki, was an unimpressive motion-capture CG feature that borrowed elements from other sci-fi anime. In this latest incarnation, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus of the E.S.W.A.T. team are charged with preserving the peace of the city-state of Olympus, a hi-tech paradise on a largely ruined Earth. Screenwriters Kiyoto Takeuchi and Todd W. Russell have given the story a contemporary twist, adding attacks by "cyborg terrorists" and an effort by the ruler of Olympus to control a world-wide satellite surveillance system. When cyborgs and human launch coordinated attacks on the government headquarters in Olympus, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus swing into action against a mysterious enemy. The plot has little in common with the earlier films: the Appleseed technology that was at the core of the story isn't even mentioned. The look, tone, and characters in "Ex Machina" recall Shirow's "Ghost in the Shell", rather than the original "Appleseed". Not surprisingly, the elaborately choreographed fight scenes reflect Woo's signature style, with slo-mo martial-arts combat, close-ups of falling shells, dynamic camerawork, and all-out gun battles. But the weightless movements of the motion-capture characters and the limited rendering of the skin textures gives "Appleseed Ex Machina" the feel of an extremely elaborate computer game. Despite the limits of the mo-cap technology, "Appleseed Ex Machina" is a fast-past, take-no-prisoners cinematic adventure that will delight action-movie fans as well as anime lovers. (Rated PG-13: violence, violence against women, profanity, grotesque imagery, potentially offensive religious imagery.) "--Charles Solomon"

Theatrical: 1992

Studio: Universal Studios

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 81

Summary: All primitive screwheads, listen up! Cult superstar Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead) reunites with director Sam Raimi (Drag Me to Hell, Spider-Man) to battle the deadly forces of evil in Army of Darkness - the outrageous, effects-fueled action epic that will make you scream with fear and laughter. Forced to lead a makeshift Dark Ages army against the demonic Deadites, who possess all the deadly magic of hell, the shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed, reluctant 20th century time traveler Ash (Campbell) must save the living from the dead, rescue his medieval girlfriend and get back to his own time. One of the most popular horror comedies of all time, now digitally remastered and loaded with bonus features, Army of Darkness Screwhead Edition is drop-dead fun!

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: ADV Films

Genre: Animation

Duration: 650

Summary: Like "Seinfield" or the juvenile novels of the '50s, the popular "shojo" (girl's) series "Azumanga Daioh" (2002) isn't really about anything. Based on the manga by Kiyohiko Azuma, the broadcast series follows a mismatched group of seven girls through their three years at an ordinary Tokyo high school. Chiyo is a cute prodigy who skipped five grades; Sakaki seems oblivious to everything except stray cats, which always bite her. Kaorin appears to be fixated on Sakaki; although she worries about her weight, Yomi is the most normal member of the cast. Osaka acts spaced-out,Tomo declares she's a "loose cannon," and Kagura is an outstanding athlete: this trio proclaims themselves "The Knuckleheads" when they face major exams. Hard-drinking, potty-mouthed English teacher Yukari resents the popularity of saner coach Nyamo, even though they're friends and former classmates; Kimura, who teaches because he likes to ogle teenage girls, is the only major male character.
"Azumanga Daioh" presents no sustained story arc or character development: each episode is a collection of more or less random incidents involving the girls and the three faculty members. The stories focus on everyday activities: classes, exams, festivals, field trips, athletic events. The characters don't pilot "mecha" or battle demons or lose their clothes or face major emotional crises. The normalcy of the girls' lives is the main source of the series' appeal. (Rated 13 and older: cartoon violence, minor profanity, alcohol use, minor risqué humor) "--Charles Solomon"